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One of California’s newest special districts, the Pajaro Valley Healthcare District (PVHCD), is moving forward is its attempts to purchase and manage the Watsonville Community Hospital, located in Santa Cruz County. The new healthcare district is a powerful example of successful collaboration among local and state leaders to act quickly for an urgent community purpose.

PVHCD was formed to ensure that Watsonville Community Hospital could continue providing essential healthcare services, as it has been doing for more than 100 years. Serving both Santa Cruz and Monterey counties, the hospital’s patients come from a variety of backgrounds. For the past two decades, the hospital has undergone a number of administrative and financial turnovers, ultimately resulting in the hospital filing for bankruptcy in January 2022.

Shortly after the bankruptcy filing, Senator John Laird introduced SB 418, an urgency measure coauthored by Senator Anna Caballero and Assemblymembers Robert Rivas and Mark Stone – all of whom represent the Santa Cruz and Monterey area. The bill was fast-tracked and earned unanimous approval in the Assembly and Senate. SB 418 was signed into law by Governor Newsom on February 4, 2022. 

After SB 418’s signing, the district and its community partners acted quickly to form a Board of Directors and seek sources of funding for the hospital’s purchase. Key stakeholders involved include the County of Santa Cruz, the City of Watsonville, Salud Para La Gente and the Community Health Trust of Pajaro Valley. The most recent commitment of financial support is a $25 million allocation in the 2022-23 State Budget, secured by Senator Laird and Assemblymember Rivas. The district is nearing its goal of the $67 million needed for the hospital’s purchase and has secured financial commitments of funding from a number of sources including local governments, healthcare organizations, business entities, and individuals.

For more information about the District, visit https://pvhcd.org/.